Q. You help families who seemingly have outgrown their home rethink a room. What do you think is the most clever reworking of space that you’ve done?
A. I’m really proud of my master suite reconfiguration. Most people daydream of a huge master bedroom, but why? What do you do in there…sleep. In most of my new designs I’ve reallocated much more square footage to a lobby-style bathroom and closet and less to what I now call the “sleeping room.” The sleeping room is cozy and can be sectioned off to allow for privacy and light control, which is especially helpful when you and your spouse are on different sleeping schedules. In my own home, I don’t have a single piece of clothing storage in my bedroom. The closet and bathroom have sufficient storage, and when combined with the laundry facilities in the master closet, the clothes never leave this area except when you’re wearing them. It’s extremely efficient as well as luxurious.
Q. How about a little behind-the-scenes information: How do homeowners get selected to appear on your show? Do they pay for labor and materials, or do they get some of the work done for free?
A. You can apply for shows off my website, chipwade.com. The production company will evaluate the applicants for any shows we are currently working on. The budget all depends on the show. For Elbow Room, HGTV provided $40,000 for each renovation. Some of our homeowners pitched in extra funds to increase the scope of their renovations.
Q. How were you initially “discovered?”
A. I answered a random email sent to my old neighborhood distribution list. A producer of the DC version of Designed to Sell found out they were doing a spin-off in Atlanta and he sent out an email to our neighborhood looking for homes to be renovated, plus real estate agents, a contractor and carpenter. The carpenter role looked really fun, so I sent back a self-promotional email (I’ve never struggled with self-confidence). They sent back a request for a headshot, and I had to crop out my wife from one of our wedding photos because, “who has a picture of himself!?!?” Guess that was good enough to at least get called into the audition. I can’t believe it, but that was ten years ago!
Q. You help families who seemingly have outgrown their home rethink a room. What do you think is the most clever reworking of space that you’ve done?
A. I’m really proud of my master suite reconfiguration. Most people daydream of a huge master bedroom, but why? What do you do in there…sleep. In most of my new designs I’ve reallocated much more square footage to a lobby-style bathroom and closet and less to what I now call the “sleeping room.” The sleeping room is cozy and can be sectioned off to allow for privacy and light control, which is especially helpful when you and your spouse are on different sleeping schedules. In my own home, I don’t have a single piece of clothing storage in my bedroom. The closet and bathroom have sufficient storage, and when combined with the laundry facilities in the master closet, the clothes never leave this area except when you’re wearing them. It’s extremely efficient as well as luxurious.
Q. How about a little behind-the-scenes information: How do homeowners get selected to appear on your show? Do they pay for labor and materials, or do they get some of the work done for free?
A. You can apply for shows off my website, chipwade.com. The production company will evaluate the applicants for any shows we are currently working on. The budget all depends on the show. For Elbow Room, HGTV provided $40,000 for each renovation. Some of our homeowners pitched in extra funds to increase the scope of their renovations.
Q. How were you initially “discovered?”
A. I answered a random email sent to my old neighborhood distribution list. A producer of the DC version of Designed to Sell found out they were doing a spin-off in Atlanta and he sent out an email to our neighborhood looking for homes to be renovated, plus real estate agents, a contractor and carpenter. The carpenter role looked really fun, so I sent back a self-promotional email (I’ve never struggled with self-confidence). They sent back a request for a headshot, and I had to crop out my wife from one of our wedding photos because, “who has a picture of himself!?!?” Guess that was good enough to at least get called into the audition. I can’t believe it, but that was ten years ago!